WINCH BY WINCH

In reality, oil trains would be pulled through the loading gantry via a winching system. But that’s a tall order for anybody working in 4mm... “I couldn’t find a way to represent it on the layout,” admits Roy. “I’ve modelled it so that the winch is out of service - that’s how I get away with it!” Roy has surrounded the winch with maintenance workers and a crane, to emphasise that it’s not operational. It’s an ingenious idea, and a valid, prototypical reason for the need to shunt into the loading gantry. The winch might be a key feature of the prototype, but Roy has worked out a clever solution that doesn’t impact upon the authentic feel of the layout. To explain just how complicated creating a working winch in 4mm would be, Roy outlines the winching process. “The train would be winched through the loading gantry. You’ll notice flaps - almost like miniature drawbridges - in the loading gantry. These allow personnel to access each wagon, open the desired loading hatch and make sure it’s empty. “The train would then be winched through to another part of the building, where a worker would identify what product needed to go into what wagon, via a computer system. A lance would then attach to the desired wagon and automatically load. Once the loading process is complete, a worker would access the wagon once again and shut the loading hatch.”